Week 4 term 1 2025
Kia ora whānau,
This week, we had a very successful school triathlon, and it was fantastic to see so many students showing courage and perseverance by participating—especially those for whom this may not have been their usual event. Well done to everyone who gave it a go!
We also had a great turnout for our Japan trip information evening. This is an incredible opportunity for our students to experience a different culture and live with a Japanese family. While we acknowledge that this is a significant financial commitment, the experience is truly invaluable. A reminder that applications close next Friday, 7 March, and forms are available from the school office.
A quick reminder about our Brunch Club, which runs every morning tea. This is available for any student who may have missed breakfast or just needs a little extra food to get through the day. Thanks to Sanitarium (for supplying Weet-Bix), Fonterra (for providing milk), and Kidscan (for additional snacks) for supporting this initiative.
Attendance remains a key focus for us this year. If your child is not attending school regularly, we are required to refer them to the Blue Light Attendance Service. Please do not be offended—attending school is a legal requirement in New Zealand, and regular attendance is crucial for learning and wellbeing. If your child is going to be absent, please notify the school so we can ensure their safety.
Looking ahead, we are excited for our class camps, which kick off in Week 6, providing fantastic opportunities for our students to learn, grow, and build connections outside the classroom. We also welcome the Life Education team, who will be onsite over the next few weeks, supporting students with valuable learning experiences.
Ngaa mihi nui
Susan Wood - Principal
Triathlon February 2025
Koru Badges
The following students have earned Koru badges to date in 2025
Bronze Taimana | Silver Jayden | Platinum Monique | Star Sidney | |
Harris | James | Oliver | ||
Jo Jo |
Wednesday 5 March 2025
We invite you and your child to come into school on Wednesday, 5 March, to check in and see what they have been doing at school and how they have settled in. This is an open-style evening between 4 pm and 6 pm, so no appointment is needed. We are sure your child would like to show you how well they have settled into the new year at Maeroa.
If you need a one-to-one appointment, don't hesitate to contact the class teacher directly to make a time.
Attendance
Attendance
One of the things we are continuing to focus on in 2025 is student attendance. You will hear us talking about this with you, with our students and it remains a strong subject of conversation in the staff room.
If a student misses one day of school every two weeks, they miss more than a whole year of school by 16 years of age. As a parent or caregiver, you, alongside our school, play a key role in building strong habits of regular school attendance.
All students are legally required to attend school every day and it is a shared responsibility to make sure students attend and engage in learning from when they first start school.
You must let the school know if your child is going to be absent or intends to be absent for a portion of the school term for whatever reason, like a tangi or medical procedure. Family holidays or taking time off for extracurricular activities (not organised by school) are not acceptable reasons for being absent.
If you're struggling at home with getting your child to school, talk to us.
If you are finding it hard to get your child to school, please talk with us so we can work together. Our school is committed to supporting your child to attend school.
Our school continues to build a culture that fosters attendance every day by having:
- School staff who have strong relationships with students and family.
- A school culture that recognises your child and your family for who you are, where you come from and what you value.
- A school whaanau that takes all practical steps to make sure your child is at school and progressing in their learning.
- A school that is safe and welcoming for everyone in our school community.
If you have any attendance queries and issues, please contact us so we can work together.
Parking
A reminder not to park in our school carpark between 8:00 - 8:45 am and 2:45 - 3:15 pm. We have 700 students trying to either arrive or depart from our school during these times and it is dangerous for cars to try and enter during that time.
We expect parents/caregivers to follow these guidelines to keep everyone's child safe.
Do not park on the yellow lines outside the school, these are marked by HCC for safety reasons.
Pedestrian Crossings
Pedestrian Crossings - Please ensure your child uses the pedestrian crossing on Maeroa Rd and the one in Churchill Avenue. Do not encourage your child to run to your car across the road. They have been told that they must use the pedestrian crossings. These are the safest places for your child to cross.
School Photos
Masterpiece Photography will be in our school on 11 & 12 March to take our class photos.
A reminder that all Maeroa Intermediate Uniform requirements can be purchased from NZ Uniforms in Hamilton.
Checking your child's phone and other devices
Why Checking Your Kids’ Devices is Smart Not Snooping
“You check your kids’ phones? Like read her texts???” She typed to me incredulously in a parenting Facebook group. “But you’re invading her privacy,” she continued.
I replied directly, “She’s ELEVEN and doesn’t understand netiquette and the consequences of texting something inappropriate. On devices, there is no privacy in our house.”
And the debate ensued. A flurry of comments, replies, and shaming sparked the debate to the digital age question, is it OK to check your child’s phone? My husband and I thought we were doing the right thing, but I decided to check with the experts.
Glen Pounder, COO of Child Rescue Coalition says, “Perhaps the real question should be why not check your kid’s phone? Think about it this way – would you be happy for your child to meet a 43-year-old strange man in a park while you stood only 10 or 15 yards away? Why should it be any different when your child is in their bedroom meeting a potential child predator online?”
When we were children, we had privacy. We wrote notes to our friends that our parents couldn’t see, or we talked on the phone, if we were lucky in our bedroom on our phone line (an old-school luxury)! But our parents knew who we were communicating with, and we didn’t have a computer in the palms of our hands.
Nowadays, children are getting access to devices at a younger age, and privacy, even for children, is seen by many as a right, not a privilege. It’s the norm to download social media apps, Google anything whenever and wherever, watch videos on several platforms on any subject, and send nudes via Snapchat. With this new technology comes the ability for predators to find our kids easily and an enormous responsibility for parents. Do we really think children are in a position to protect themselves at such an age?
“Does your child’s perceived right to privacy supersede their safety? It’s 100 percent your right to check their devices,” said Bill Wiltse, President of Child Rescue Coalition.
Child predators want to invade children’s lives, an abuse that they may never recover from. The horrific truth is that some children are driven to suicide, having suffered online abuse.
Glen Pounder adds, “Children make online connections and believe, sometimes very quickly, these new connections to be friends. Your child may think that a profile called “13Mary” really is a 13-year-old girl when it could be a 32-year-old child predator. Despite the best efforts of any social media or online gaming company you can think of, they currently cannot control child predators on their platforms. Worse, these predators are actively looking to groom and sexually abuse children online by getting them to move to private messaging on a different platform or messaging service. This makes detecting their behaviour even more difficult.”
The internet can be a frightening place and we need to give our kids the tools to navigate it safely. So how can parents combat child predators and keep our children safe from childhood sexual abuse? Three simple steps.
- Check your kid’s devices. This includes reading texts and direct messages. All parents will need to make their own judgment of what is right for their child. Having open, two-way conversations about children’s online activity will help inform you to set the right frequency for your family.
- Download tracking software. Technology allows for safe exploration with the notification to a parent when potentially dangerous activity is taking place. These apps will give parents peace of mind. As a working parent, they help me since I don’t have the capacity to manage multiple devices daily.
- Communicate with your kids. Ask your children who they are playing with or talking to online, and have them show you their favourite apps and games. If you take the time to show an interest, you will learn exactly what your child is doing online.
Not every person your child meets on the internet can harm them, but the fact remains that wherever kids are playing online, so are child predators. You wouldn’t give your child a bike without a helmet, or a car without driving lessons, so please don’t hand them over the keys to an iPhone without putting these safety measures in place. Now is the time to keep them safe, and let them be little just a few years longer.
Glen Pounder, COO of Child Rescue Coalition
Some parents may think this won't happen in Aotearoa New Zealand but it does and it has. Even in our school we know of students who have been tricked into befriending a very inappropriate person online. Please watch out for your children.